Smile
by The Fallen Angel Of Pain
Summary: The Guardians are down for the count, distrust heavily hanging above them. Someway, somehow, they had turned against one another, no longer being friends. Or more importantly - family... Not that they were quite a family before... Yet one of them manages to find the solution to their disconnection, engaging into a dangerous journey to restore their family, once and for all.
1. The Ending or The Beginning of Something

**The only thing I have to say right now: - Enjoy.**

Pairing: N/A  
Genre: Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Family, Mystery, Angst, Suspense  
Rating: K+  
Word Count: 1,243

Chapter 1 - The Ending or The Beginning of Something Strange

* * *

Jack was the first one to try.

Of course he was.

He, after all, was the youngest, and the most gullible Guardian among them. He was practically born for hopeful thinking, even more so than Bunny. So it was not at all a surprise when he tried to reason with his fellow Guardians.

He had offered to try and solve their problems through words.

The Guardians agreed to this, seeing it as not just the only solution, but as a chance to offer their trust to Jack.

They had made plans to have a family dinner every Friday, and have celebrating parties every holiday. They talked and were honest to one another, offering their opinions and reasons why they felt so angry. They even went as far as visiting each other if one of them needed any help with their jobs.

But none of it worked. A month had not passed and the Guardians turned back to fighting and insulting among themselves.

They simply couldn't connect, no matter how much effort they put in it. And no matter how much they tried to fix the problem, it only got worse with each passing day. The fights got so bad that at some point the Guardians decided that they should only meet if necessary. But that didn't work out either; the Guardians' lives interfered too much, even when they tried to avoid it as much as possible.

Yet the Guardians still continued their struggle to connect again. And as days passed, the reasons why they were doing this slowly started vanishing. Until there was only one reason left.

It was none other than Jack. None of them wanted to hurt Jack's feelings ever again, not after they ignored him for so much time. So every time they all fought, they tried remembering why they were still trying to save their friendships, despite how hurt they all got with each fight.

But that didn't last long either.

In the end there was only one thing left to do. And the Guardians, having already broken their friendship with so many fights between them, agreed to it.

They all decided to go their separate ways.

North continued with preparations to his holiday, and Bunny attended preparations of his own. Sandy went through his job of spreading dreams around the world, and Tooth returned to her busy life.

The only one left was Jack.

Now Jack had his own believers, even if it was a handful, and he was perfectly fine with it. But seeing his family turning away from him, and each other, tore his heart apart. He had tried so hard to keep them all together. Yet in the end nothing worked. He was back at the beginning. Alone and hated.

And it never felt so bitter than now, looking at the Northern lights shutting down once and for all. The sky looked almost as lonely as Jack had felt back then.

_Two Years Later_

* * *

...

...

...

The snow was falling silently, while the moon started revealing itself across a clear dark sky...

The night was as any other night, all peaceful and no noise to be heard. No noise but that of a pair of two lonely footsteps that echoed deep within the darkness. But even those footsteps could only be heard by the ones that believed.

Jack twirled his staff around, too deep in thought to notice that the moon had already risen high above the sky. And as usual, Jack's thoughts consisted of snow, fun and ways how to make those too even more.

But unexpectedly, his thoughts kept returning to one theme in specific. He tried to shake the thought off, but it kept puzzling his mind, nagging at the back of his head. A few minutes later, and Jack sighed in defeat, knowing that if he kept ignoring the thought, he would eventually go insane.

He simply had to check.

So with a not so happy bounce in his feet, he jumped into the sodden air, and took off into a direction he was all too familiar with. Not a minute later, and Jack arrived to the desired destination.

The first thing he noticed was that the rotten bed frame still hasn't appeared. And the hole still hasn't opened. It made Jack wonder, though he wasn't too worried about those things. Last time Pitch got defeated, it took him centuries to get back on track.

What did make him worry was the fact he hasn't seen a single nightmare frolicking by. Not even a glimpse.

_Is Pitch on a vacation or something?_, the Guardian of Fun thought. In that moment, he realized it never occurred to him that something might have happened to the King of Fear, because the mere thought of it could send even the highest of spirits into a laughing fit.

Pitch is a very powerful spirit, with a very powerful element.

Then again, how did the Guardians managed to defeat him with a single child? Even if it was a strong believer with a pure heart.

All this thinking gave Jack a headache, so he decided he was just gonna return in a few more days to check. But before he left, he took a look at the sky. One that felt so empty now that there is no chance that the northern lights will show again.

_Few Days Later_

* * *

The hole is still closed up.

It unnerved Jack, and scared him. Maybe Pitch was really weak, or even hurt. It's been two years since they defeated him, the entrance to Pitch's lair should have been opened months ago.

But that wasn't supposed to be Jack's problem, Pitch is his enemy, after all. Yet Jack couldn't shake off the feeling of dread at the thought of the inevitable.

He had to do something.

He _will_ do something.

So the next days he spent digging out the hole, which turned out to be more challenging than he thought. It was deeper and the dirt was tougher. He even tried using his power for an advantage, but that didn't work out either. So he spent another two weeks visiting the abandoned field to slowly dig out what was left of the tunnel.

It was not until an entire month had passed that he reached the bottom of the entrance, when the dirt collapsed in on itself and made walking possible. The air was actually too thin, instead of being too thick like the last time Jack walked through it with Baby Tooth. He merely shuddered at the haunting memory as he brushed off the dirt that stuck to his clothes. He took a few steps forward, carefully making his way through the surprisingly small darkness.

And what he first saw when he walked to the end of the tunnel, made his blood run colder than it already was.

* * *

**I decided that this chapter, as the first, will be short, just to explain a few things. The next chapter will be bigger, and hopefully soon. What's for sure is that I will definitely finish this story, gonna stick with it till the very end. Bye for now, dear readers.**


	2. And It All Starts With One

**Just a little message before reading: the chapters are getting bigger slowly, so the adventure that I planned will soon begin. I can barely wait :)**

**A**** bigger message: To all you out there that are wondering why the Guardians suddenly became disconnected, I assure you the reason is not logical. Something in the world happened, and brought this emotion subconsciously to the Guardians. It's a mystery that one of the Guardians is trying to unravel. And some of their fights will be revealed, all in fair time, so be patient.**

**And welcome back chibissima, missed you lots. Hope you enjoy this new story, and don't worry, it's quite original ;) ****_Important Note_: This chapter takes place after Jack sees whatever he saw in the first chapter.**

Pairing: N/A  
Genre: Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Family, Mystery, Angst, Suspense  
Rating: K+  
Word Count: 2,400

Chapter 2 - And It All Starts With One

* * *

The older Guardians were surprised when they received a signal from the Man in Moon himself, thinking they might have just imagined it.

But of course, nothing can be imagined when it comes in the form of moon beams in the middle of day.

They had dropped every job they had at hand, and hurried toward the North Pole, a place they hadn't been in forever.

''Tooth,'' Bunny stated, with Tooth saying his name also. North and Sandy greeted one another the same way, then greeted Tooth and Bunny.

So it all came down to this. After milennias of friendship and companionship, the only thing they could now say to each other were their own names.

And even that was either muffled or choked out.

After a minute of awkward silence, Sandy was the first one to gather the courage to break it. He shifted his sand above his head, saying that the moon had called him. The other spirits nodded their heads at this, silently saying it was the only reason they came too.

After another minute of silence, Sandy also produced a snowflake and a question mark out of his sand.

''I don't know,'' Tooth said, as if she were the one that was supposed to take care of him, ''But MiM stated clearly that all of us should attend. So we're just gonna have to wait.''

The former friends nodded to this, too weak to say anything else. They didn't quite know what to say to people that are practically strangers now. What to say to people you've been with for such a very long time, but now can't say a word to them without it turning into another fight.

Should they say that they were worried how the others were doing? Should they make their opinions on this disconnection known?... Or should they say that their lives returned to normal, like the War of Dark Ages never happened?

Actually, that was not true; Their lives would could never return to normal after this.

None of them found it in them to start, so none of them started at all.

It didn't take long for Jack to finally show up. And when he did, the Guardians sighed in relief. The less time they spend with each other, the better. Every minute spent together and they risked of engaging into a fight. Last time the reason why a fight broke out was simply because of one of them leaving the window open.

Jack dived in through the air, landing smoothly near his friends, but no longer in his usual fun way. His appearance was the first thing the Guardians took in - It was not at all pleasant.

His forehead seemed to have more sweat than a rain puddle, and his hair was untidy, poorly taken care of. Even his clothes seemed worn out, though they looked like usual. His eyes looked the worst, almost bloodshot and wandering, like they saw all the terror of the world. Jack kept fidgeting in his spot, not wanting to meet his former friends' gazes.

He was grateful they all decided not to comment on his dreadful look, though Tooth looked like she wanted to.

The moon was high in the sky, already shining its way to the center of the Globe Room. The spirit of wonder walked cheerfully to the moon beams, his hands outstretched in a greeting way. The spirits behind him kept quiet.

''Man in Moon, good to see you old friend. Tell me, why have you gathered us all here?'' North asked the old spirit. As always, the answer wasn't given immediately.

It made the Guardians wonder, _hope_ that maybe, just _maybe_, MiM found a way to bring them back together. That he could solve their problems, and right their misunderstandings. As always, they relied on his wisdom and waited for his answer.

That was why they all felt like a ton has been placed on their shoulders, when North finally spoke, ''He wants to give Jack something.''

If anyone ever said that they had heard the exhales of disappointment and anger, the Guardians wouldn't deny it.

''Jack, approach,'' North said, gesturing to the spot next to him. Though tentatively, Jack approached the moon beams. He might had been just as disappointed like his used-to-be friends, but he just couldn't find it in him to be angry at the man who chose him to be a Guardian.

Well, as much of a Guardian he was now.

''Man in Moon,'' North whispered, though it was for emphasis only, because everyone in the room could hear him, ''wants me to give you something.'' Jack nodded his head at this. North turned around toward his office, leaving the room more quiet than ever. The remaining Guardians tried hard not to look uncomfortable, and half of them wanted to say something but didn't want to risk it.

When North returned, the silence in the room already felt like it wanted to choke its habitants.

Jack caught a sight of a large book in North's hand. It looked like it was made of silver or diamond, but it could easily be any other material, its white color being bright against the black letters that adorned its front. The letters spelled out the word 'Amorphous'.

''This, Jack,'' North said as he came to a stop in front of the winter sprite, ''is the Amorphous book.'' Jack gazed upon the heavy looking book, wondering what it was about.

''Amorphous book?'' he asked confusedly.

''Yes, it was named after its own personality. See, this book isn't an ordinary book, as you can tell,'' North tapped the words in front while saying, ''It never remains the same. It is not about us Guardians, and it is, at the same time. It is about everything, yet nothing at all.''

Jack looked up from the book to the Guardian of Wonder. He shook his head in confusion.

''I don't understand.'' Jack said, but the old Cossack simply smiled in return. He handed the book to Jack, too quickly for Jack to have the time to decide whether he wanted it or not.

''So, we are done here?'' Bunny harshly asked. And North seemed like he was gonna say something opposed to Bunny, but closed his mouth just in time.

''Yes, we are.''

And with those final words, Tooth and Bunny left to attend to their homes, North continued doing whatever he was doing before they all came, and Sandy himself kept lingering just a few more seconds.

The only one left was Jack. Again.

_Back at Burgess_

* * *

_How do you open this thing?_, Jack questioned as he tapped the book.

Just as he thought, the book doesn't open like other normal books, and it has bugged him for hours now. He tried nearly anything to open it, yet still, the book was sealed shut. An exasperated sigh left Jack's mouth as he leaned against the tree he was sitting on.

_How am I gonna read it if I can't even open it?_, Jack shook his head at the sky above him, the sun melting the snow that gathered around the tree. The snow there was only partly because of his constant nervous fidgeting with his staff.

''Open, sesame,'' he dramatically said to the book. The book didn't listen, ''What does a Guardian have to do to open a single book?'' Jack wondered. ''Amorphous isn't even a real word-''

The book clicked, and the diamond embedded pages slowly opened before him. Jack gaped a few seconds longer, then exhaled in annoyance.

''Amorphous, really, the book's name is the opener,'' he prattled to himself as he turned to the first page, ''How classic.''

The first page consisted of nothing, a complete blank. Jack turned another page, but the page was the same as the first one. Blank. Jack quickly went through all the book's pages, but they were all the same.

''You've gotta be kidding me,'' he whispered to the book.

He closed it with a snap, deciding that he should probably return it to the Guardian of Wonder. However, he still wondered why Man in Moon would give him a book that had nothing in it. _Maybe he wants me to write something into it?_, Jack thought with a frown, _But what?_

Suddenly there was a noise, and Jack jerked from his thinking, turning his head swiftly to look for any signs of intruders. Although he knew there no one was nearby; He would have sensed it if they set foot on his territory. It took him five full minutes to realize that the noise actually sounded like... paper?

He looked to the book in his lap, and opened it with a whisper of its name. The first page took him by surprise. It was filled with _drawings_ and _caligraphy_. Jack could have sworn they weren't there before. But he soon remembered what North had said. _''It never remains the same.''_

_Well, that explains a lot_, Jack triumphantly thought as he took a good look at the filled page.

The first picture was that of a two spirits fighting. The spirits couldn't be seen clearly because one of them was basked in blinding light while the other was submerged in total darkness. There was a description below the picture.

The Great Battle of Life and Death. _Huh. Who would have thought that Life knew how to battle, she is usually very passive, even to herself,_ Jack nonchalantly thought.

The story that was written below the picture was even more interesting. It told the tale of two warriors that were on Earth for thousands of years before other spirits. They battled until blood was shed, and one of them killed the other. Surprisingly, it doesn't tell who won. So after the winning spirit beheaded the other, it lived on Earth in peace for another thousand years.

Jack turned the other page.

This page contained four pictures, of which two represented a bloody battle, one the beheading, and the last one a spirit that stood on a cliff, supposedly looking over the village in the distance. The spirit looked male, but Jack couldn't see quite clearly, as if the book itself was stopping him from doing so. Though the description below was what made Jack nearly choke on air.

_The First Guardian._

''There is another Guardian! Why didn't anyone tell me!?'' Jack exclaimed to the book, offended that no one told there were six of them, and not just five. Nevertheless, putting all the anger for later, Jack kept reading, intrigued by the information the book was giving him.

The tale reached reality's past, saying that the Guardians soon came and they spread their wonder, hope. _Blah, blah, blah, _Jack skipped a few sentences on how the Guardians came to be; He already knew that story by heart. He turned to another page and came to a stop.

He gently caressed the single picture on the left page, before reading the story on the right. It looked like someone themselves wrote it, in elegant, cursive words.

_The Guardians never really were a family, that much I knew when I saw them. I didn't know what to say to them, could barely even look at them. But somehow I gathered the courage to reach out to them but-..._ A huge part was missing from the story, so Jack skipped to the other part, no longer caring if he didn't hear the whole story. He just wanted to hear its end.

_... That lasted for centuries, even after I faded away from their lives. Though I can tell for certainty that the Guardians were never the same after I left... They were more of a family to me than to anyone else in my long existence. I just wish things were a bit more different..._

Jack slowly peeled his eyes away from the pretty writing, to the drawing on the left. The drawing was of a family, the Guardians, with even Jack in it. And something, or someone, stood in the middle where they were all huddled as if in a hug, but the features couldn't be seen because someone smudged it with color. The drawing bellow the picture was the same handwriting like the one of the story. It said: _Our__ family._

Jack didn't know why, but a nearly overwhelming sadness washed over him. The First Guardian probably ran away somewhere, that is the only thing that can explain how he managed to write this story down. He couldn't have written it if he were dead. Yet by the story, it didn't seem like the Guardian of Protection would abandon his fellow Guardians. His family. Maybe he found a good reason?...

_Wait... _Our_ family... The family of Guardians... 'They never really were a family, until he reached out to them'..._

''That's it,'' Jack exhaled in excitement, realization dawning on him, ''I know how to bring us back together!''

He was going to find the First Guardian.

No matter the cost.

* * *

**I know this chapter has less plots, but the main focus of the story _is_ about the reveal of the First Guardian, and the adventure that takes it to get there. The next chapter should be soon enough. Patience is a virtue... Whatever 'virtue' is...**


	3. Long Live The Enemy

**And here is the third chapter! Ta-da!... Well, that didn't sound like I thought it would. And surprise, surprise, it is revealed what Jack saw. Shush, no more spoilers. ****FlightFeathers, as always, great thanks for your honesty; I like the way you're thinking. Also a special thanks to my loyal reader, chibissima. You truly give me the courage and the inspiration for my stories. Truly :')**

**Time periods for easier explanation are at the bottom.  
**

Pairing: N/A  
Genre: Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Family, Mystery, Angst, Suspense  
Rating: K+  
Word Count: 1,639

Chapter 3 - Long Live The Enemy

_Present Day: Two Years After the Nightmare War (2014)_

* * *

Jack didn't know what he was doing there.

He knew where he was, it was his home place, after all. But he didn't know why he was just standing there, looking at the few spirits that gathered on the blossoming field, next to the eternally frozen lake.

They were mourning.

Jack could barely look at the weeping women dressed in black, their bodies shuddering and their faces stained with tears. He couldn't make out who they were, but he knew that they were the spirits of darkness.

Of some sort.

_He walked carefully to the end of the tunnel, afraid what he was going to see, but still wanting to see it anyway. The wet and damp walls dripped water that looked like it had no place where it emerged and formed. Other spirits would probably say that it was cold. __Yet the ground beneath his feet felt normal to him, only furthermore indicating that it indeed was cold. Yet it didn't feel cold to him._

_Jack shook his head, knowing that he thought about the temperature only to distract himself from the true purpose he was there._

_He thought his heart would have stopped if it had a heartbeat of its own, when he saw the scene before him._

_The underground kingdom was gone. There was no more of the elegant black walls, the endless myriad of stairs and the darkest of corridors. It was just an ordinary cave, with nothing special to show, its uneven walls and black floor standing out the most._

_For a few seconds Jack just stared at the empty space, thinking- no_, hoping_ his mind was just playing tricks on him. That any second he would see the kingdom, and that Pitch would jump out to startle him. He waited for half an hour... Nothing happened._

_He didn't know how long he just waited there, stood there frozen to his spot -The irony wasn't lost on him- When his mind finally started working, and he jumped forward to the cave._

_He screamed out the Nightmare King's name, but his own echo answered him, and the silence of course. His hands left shadowy trails as he hopped about in the cavern. Dust has already settled on the floor, and Jack left the outlines of his feet on it._

_The silence wasn't eerie, uncomfortable or even heavy. It was simply nothing. Like there was no one down there but the Guardian of Fun himself._

_''Pitch!'' Jack desperately called out, ''Are you in here!?''_

_But no answer was given._

Jack thought about how he reacted that day. He didn't remember that much, although he knew he somehow fled away from the scene, found Death's smaller helpers, and demanded answers. They had laughed at him, quite the feral creatures. At least one of them was kind enough to tell him what had happened to the underground lair. But as soon as it started talking, Jack started shaking his head in denial.

''No,'' he had whispered, already knowing what the creature was saying, but not wanting to hear it.

_A Year After the Nightmare War (2013)_

* * *

And came the faithful day with news bigger than Samhain's death.

The Nightmare King is dead.

Every spirit, every animal and insect, every leaf and tree, screamed at the top of their lungs.

The Nightmare King is dead!

The Nightmare King is dead!

Nightmares and Fearlings scattered across the land, but they were surprisingly easy to kill. Mountains and rivers blushed of life, sun shone brighter than ever and nights were as safe as the stars themselves watched over them, free to do so without any darkness in their way.

No more talk of darkness, no more talk of fear.

Dreams and hope now spill out from every child, memories even easier to remember the beautiful times, wonder in every child's eye and fun at every step.

The Nightmare King is dead.

The Nightmare King-

He's dead...

_Present Day: Two Years After the Nightmare War (2014)_

* * *

Jack didn't know what to think of this information.

Should he tell the Guardians? Or maybe it's best if he just kept it to himself. But they were bound to find out anyway, so why wouldn't he be the one that tells them. Then again, the Guardians weren't too connected with the Spirit World, since they never had a reason; They did their jobs, and the spirits did theirs.

He shouldn't even be this shaken by it. He knew what could have happened to Pitch when they let him get dragged away by the nightmares, because they still took that risk-

_We killed him. It's all our fault_, the Guardian thought, _Why didn't I listen to him when I got the chance? Why couldn't I just made him see what he was doing was wrong._

But would he have listened, even if Jack tried? Would it have ended the same?

Jack didn't know. And honestly, he didn't want to remember either. It's over. Pitch is gone. There is nothing he could do about it, even as much as he was in denial, he simply had to accept the facts of life.

So Jack pushed those sad thoughts away and redirected his attention to the book in his hands, taking a seat back at the tree that he claimed with snow. He took the free time he had at hand to open the book 'Amorphous' again.

As he expected, the book changed, the stories and pictures different from before. Jack went through the first book pages that talked about other unimportant spirits, until he finally came to a stop on the hundredth one.

The page told of the whereabouts of the First Guardian, and Jack soaked it all in, before closing the book in triumph.

The book didn't tell him directly where the Guardian of Protection was, nor did it tell who the spirit is, but it did tell him how he could find him. First he had to assemble five sacred things, to close up a circle and to be able to say the spell words he knew clearly in his mind. One of the Sacred Five was a Guardian necklace, which he had, so it's one job less. But he still had to find the other four;

The sweet wine of life, the bitter apple of death, star dust and the totem of assemblage to get those four together.

Jack sighed in exhaustion, already feeling that these four things will be one hell of a hard to find...

Then, while he was still resting against the bark of the tree, an insane idea came to the front of his mind. An idea so crazy that he wondered if he had gone mad just by thinking about it. But even as the idea showed its many flaws, Jack couldn't find it in himself to put it aside.

So he pushed himself off the withered tree, and let Wind take him to the sky. He soared through the clouds. He only looked back once to glance at the place he called home. But just once.

The new idea occupied his mind for the rest of his trip.

_Why would he have to this alone._

* * *

**I know it's shorter, and I said there would be bigger chapters, but it's short for a reason. The next one will be big, and the one after that. Any suggestions at all are welcome, and can come in any way.**

Time periods:

The Nightmare War happened 2012. That is the same year the Guardians had their disconnection, not a month after their battle won. Approximately three months after, they decided to separate, to go their own ways, still in 2012.

In 2013, a year after the Nightmare War, other spirits discovered that Pitch is dead. None of the Guardians knew this because they aren't connected that much with the spirit world, and they had their disconnection to think about and their jobs. Not even Jack knew, though he was disconnected from the Spirit World just as the Guardians.

In 2014, Jack started digging out the hole, being worried about his enemies downfall. It took him a month to dig it out. He saw that there is no kingdom, and fled to Death's helpers who told him what had happened. Two days after, he attended the meeting with the Guardians, and got the Amorphous book that MiM gave him for some reason. He fled back to Burgess, where he saw that there are three spirits of darkness mourning. He waited until they left, and opened the Amorphous book again. He is still sad because it has only been a few days when he discovered Pitch's death.

He finds a description to the First Guardians whereabouts, and it says that if he found the First Guardian, their family would be complete and happy again. He then starts flying to the North Pole, hoping that the Guardians will join him on his quest.

**I think I've explained everything. No more confusions about time.**


End file.
